CES 2020: Introducing the OV48C, Omnivision’s 48-megapixel sensor
EMGblog.com: The image sensor is a part that is used in the function of the camera and finally The value of the smartphone equipped with this camera plays a significant role. According to experts, the most popular image sensor used for flagship and mid-range smartphones in 2019 is the 48 megapixel sensor Sony IMX586 managed to make its way to a large number of phones. The likes of Samsung, Huawei, Google and Apple preferred to continue using their custom sensors, but in contrast to brands such as OnePlus, Xiaomi , Oppo, Honor and many others welcomed the IMX586 sensor, so that the popularity of this sensor from Its Korean competitor, the ISOCELL GM1 (Samsung product) also went further.
In the second half of 2019, some high-end phones will start using Samsung’s new 64 megapixel sensor, i.e. ISOCELL Bright GW1 showed interest. Also, Mi Note 10 By using Samsung’s 108 megapixel sensor – which ISOCELL Bright HMX – made headlines. In December, we saw that the new 64-megapixel sensor from Sony With the name IMX686 – which is the successor of the IMX586 sensor – it has been used in the construction of new devices. Having said that, you might imagine that the main competition in the mobile image sensor market is mainly between Samsung and Sony. But we should note that in this field, another name also stands out: OmniVision.
During the last few years, this company’s products have certainly not been as successful as Sony and Samsung’s sensors, but the rules of the game may change. On Monday, January 6, 2020 (January 16, 2018), during the CES 2020 exhibition, Omnivision Company announced the production of a 48 megapixel image sensor
Considering that in other 48MP sensors, the sensor size is 0.8 microns, the OV48C is considered a large sensor. The size of the pixels in the OV48C is due to the fact that the sensor itself is physically large. According to Omnivision, the OV48C is the first image sensor in the industry to use dual HDR (on-chip) conversion. In this way, motion artifacts are removed and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is produced properly. Also, this sensor, having an HDR option in the form of in-chip composition, provides the possibility for smartphone designers to provide the best HDR method for a scene with maximum flexibility.
The OV48C sensor is based on Amnivision’s proprietary stacked substrate technology (called PureCel Plus). The size of the sensor is 1/1.3 inches, which is compared to the target sensors.
Sony and GM1 and GM2 technology — which are 1/2-inch — are bigger. It can be said that currently, the only mobile sensor that is larger than the OV48C is the 1/1.2-inch image sensor that Nokia used in 2012 in the production of the famous phone Nokia 808 PureView was used. According to the manufacturer, the optical format of the OV48C sensor improves the quality of photography and videography in flagships. This sensor integrates a 4-cell color filter (on-chip) with hardware remosaic, which results in high-quality 48-megapixel Bayer photos. Or it will be 8K video.
In low-light conditions, this sensor can output 12-megapixel images for 4K2K video by merging nearby pixels and creating four times the sensitivity, which will be equivalent to the performance of a 2.4-micron sensor. In any case, according to Omnivision’s claim, the OV48C sensor can capture high-quality images without motion blur and enable digital crop zoom – with a resolution of 12 megapixels and fast switching between modes. Additionally, Omnivision claims that offering a wide range of features – including digital crop zoom and a CPHY interface – makes this sensor a good choice for the main camera in a multi-camera setup on the back of a smartphone. This new sensor uses 4C Half Shield phase detection to support fast autofocus.
According to Omnivision, the sample of OV48C sensors is available now and will be displayed between January 7th and 10th (17th to 20th) in the hotel complex provided by CES to Omnivision. It is not yet clear whether the OV48C sensor will be used in smartphone manufacturing this year. Of course, Omnivision is not very famous in this field and except for the OnePlus 2 phone – which was released in 2015 – we cannot remember another famous phone that used Omnivision sensors in its main camera. The OV48C’s specs look great on paper, but it remains to be seen how this sensor can compete with Sony’s 64MP IM686 sensor and Samsung’s 108MP ISOCELL Bright HMX sensor.
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